Page 7 of Texas Hold Em'
“They’d have to be to not take a liking to you.”
I smiled. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” Dan sighed.
I chewed the inside of my cheek. How long had it been since I saw Dan last? Two months? Two and a half? Something like that. We’d worked together for just shy of five years, and when I first made Ranger, he’d been the guy to show me the ropes in Austin once I was placed at a station. He was a tall drink of water who made the Ranger uniform look damn good—and that wasn’t an easy feat.
“How are Diane and the kids?” I asked after a beat.
I heard the smile in Dan’s voice. “Good. They’re good. Andrewstarted a new daycare last week where they’re teaching him how to spell better than I can.”
“An easy task really.”
“Watch it, Hart.” He chuckled. “And baby Reggie is starting to look less like me and more like Diane, so she’s thrilled.”
There was a time—a brief time admittedly—when I used to believe that I might get the white picket fence life with Dan. We fit together like puzzle pieces. Our values matched, we craved the same career success, and we both wanted two kids and a dog in a two-story house with a backyard made for entertaining.
Trouble was, there was no sizzle. No fire.
Sure, we fit, but we didn’t thrive together. We were stagnant and we both knew it. After our breakup, we took some time apart and slowly rekindled our working relationship, and then our friendship. I suspected the only reason we were able to do such a thing was because we were so similar.
“You sure I can’t come back you up?” Dan asked. “I could ask the department to transfer me. Just for two weeks to check in on you, help check some boxes, cross some t’s. You know the drill.”
“No.” I might have spoken a little too quickly. I rubbed at my temple and took a deep breath in an effort to sound neutral. “No, it’s alright, Dan. I’ve got it covered. It’s tedious and slow going, but I’m coming to the end of it. I can feel it.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Besides, it’s not like I don’t have any backup.”
“I thought you said the department there was full of assholes?”
“It is, but I have a pack of wild animals backing me up.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
I laughed. Good lord, what would Dan think of me working with a criminal biker gang of heathens? His head would spin. “I’ll explain everything when I get home.”
Dan was quiet as he processed. “Can I at least help you dig? What’s the name of your person of interest?”
“Dan,” I said softly.
Bless him. Helpful was his middle name. His heart was always inthe right place, and I knew I could lean on him if I needed to, but I couldn’t this time. This mess I was in was too dirty. Too bloody.
Dan couldn’t come anywhere near it for the sake of his own neck, and for the sake of his wife and kids.
This job was mine alone.
“Can you just tell me you’re safe?” Dan pressed.
I looked around at the cinderblock apartment. “I’m safe.”
He exhaled.
“Listen, I have to go,” I said. “But thank you for calling and checking in on me. I’m going to have a beer and get some work done. Boring paperwork bullshit. Nothing serious.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before. Have a beer for me, will you?”
“Done deal.”
